Telecommunications in Malaysia

The primary regulator of telecommunications in Malaysia is the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). It issues licenses under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Postal Services Act 2012 and the Digital Signature Act 1997.

For the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) serves as the operating regulatory body established under Section 3 of the Sarawak Multimedia Authority Ordinance 2017, enabling the Sarawak Government to lead, oversee, and facilitate the development and implementation of communication, multimedia, and Sarawak's Digital Economy initiatives within the region.

The SMA and MCMC have maintained a cooperative relationship since SMA's inception in 2017, working together to manage and develop Sarawak's telecommunication and digitalisation sector.

In 2022, the Telecommunication Division was added as a portfolio to the Sarawak Ministry of Public Utilities (now Sarawak Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication), allowing the ministry to monitor, manage, and report on the development of the telecommunication and digitalisation sector directly to the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (Dewan Undangan Sarawak) sessions.

History

Main article: History of telecommunications in Malaysia

The British, present in Malaysia from the 18th century, established the country's earliest telecommunications facilities. They first set up telegraph lines under the Posts & Telegraphs Department. Telephones were introduced in the late 19th century, with the earliest hand-cranked Magneto operated devices used in Perak in the 1880s. The country's first public telephone exchange was established in Ipoh in 1902.

Telephones were introduced in Kuala Lumpur in 1891. At the turn of the century, a major telephony line connecting Province Wellesley (Seberang Prai) in Penang to Johor Bahru was constructed. In 1915, the first underground cable was laid, linking Ipoh, Taiping, Kampar, and Teluk Anson.

With increased trade and the development of townships, the number of telephone subscribers in Peninsular Malaysia grew significantly. By 1930, to handle the volume of telephony traffic, an automated magneto exchange was commissioned in Kuala Lumpur on Jalan Weld. In the 1930s, all telephone exchanges in the Malayan Trunk System could communicate with exchanges in Java, the Philippines, the United States, Canada, and Mexico using shortwave radio-telephone transmitters. Towards the end of the decade, a Marconi Radio Terminal was installed at the Kuala Lumpur Telephone Exchange to manage overseas calls.

Much of this telecommunications infrastructure was damaged during Second World War and the Japanese occupation. In 1946, upon re-establishing their position in Malaya, the British repaired trunk routes, restored fallen telephone poles, and replaced damaged or stolen copper wires. During the Japanese occupation, the Posts & Telegraphs Department had been divided into two separate units. The British initially reunited the two entities upon their return, but this effort was short-lived. With the formation of the Malayan Union on 1 April 1946, the Malaysian Telecommunications Department and Postal Services Department were created; the former controlled telegraph, telephone, and wireless services, while the latter oversaw mail, money orders, and savings accounts.

Telephones system

Number of fixed-telephone subscriptions: 6.474 million as of 2019

Number of Direct Exchange Line (DEL) subscriptions: 2.199 million as of 2019

Telephone system

Domestic: Communication connectivity in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia is covered by both fixed and wireless infrastructure, such as fiber networks, Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line networks, mobile base stations, earth stations, and microwave link stations.* Intercity communication service (backhaul) in Peninsular and East Malaysia is primarily provided by fiber optic connections and fixed wireless systems (microwave links). Additionally, there are deployments of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) for service provision in rural areas.* Major telecommunication operators in Malaysia include Yes, Celcom Axiata Berhad, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Maxis Berhad, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia, and Time dotCom.

International: Connectivity is provided via submarine cables to Tier 1 networks, which can reach every other network on the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection.* Major submarine cable providers in Malaysia include Telekom Malaysia and Time dotCom.* Satellite services, provided by MEASAT, offer coverage to many countries.*

Broadband

Total broadband subscriptions were 43.378 million as of 2019, resulting in a broadband penetration rate of 131.7% per 100 inhabitants.

Fixed broadband development

In 2019, fixed broadband accounted for 6.79% of the total broadband market share, comprising 2.947 million subscriptions (Up from 2.7 million in 2018).

Fixed broadband is delivered through technologies such as Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line, Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), Very-high bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), Satellite, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), and Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO).

The High-Speed Broadband project (HSBB), introduced in 2008, aimed to improve the quality of broadband access and enable users in major cities and high-impact economic areas to achieve speeds up to 100 Megabits per second. The Suburban Broadband (SUBB) and Rural Broadband (RBB) initiatives provide speeds up to 20 Megabits per second for users in suburban and rural areas.

On August 28, 2019, the Government approved the implementation of the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) for the period 2019 to 2023.

The NFCP targets include achieving an entry-level fixed broadband package at 1% of GNI by 2020, ensuring Gigabit availability in selected industrial areas by 2020 and all State Capitals by 2023, providing 100% availability for premises in State Capitals and high-impact areas with speeds of at least 500 Mbps by 2021, and reaching 20% of sub-urban and rural premises with up to 500 Mbps by 2022. Further goals include fiber network pass-through to 70% of schools, hospitals, libraries, police stations, and post offices by 2022, attaining an average speed of 30 Mbps in 98% of populated areas by 2023, and improving mobile coverage along the Pan Borneo highway upon completion.::

Mobile broadband development

In 2019, mobile broadband contributed 93.21% of the total broadband market share, with 40.431 million subscriptions as of 4Q 2019 (compared to 36.8 million in 2018::).

Upgrading and expansion of network coverage: The Time 3 and Time 3 Extension initiatives involved the construction of 1,833 new communications towers in rural areas nationwide. Additionally, 4,895 base stations at existing communications towers were upgraded from 2G to 3G/4G to support higher broadband speeds in rural areas.:::::

Malaysian Submarine Cable System (MSCS)Submarine Cable System to Sabah & Sarawak Introduced in 2014 through a public-private partnership between MCMC and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), the MSCS project was completed in 2017. It serves as a redundancy to the existing domestic submarine cable services that have been operating since 1995 and aimed to meet the growing demands for bandwidth between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia.:::::

Submarine Cable System to Islands: This project, which started in 2017 and was completed in 2018, involved upgrading existing communications infrastructure networks and submarine cables connecting the mainland with three islands: Perhentian, Tioman, and Pangkor.:::::

Broadband service providers

Service providers	Service
	Fixed broadband	Mobile broadband
Telekom Malaysia (TM)	Y	Y
Maxis Berhad (Maxis)	Y	Y
Celcom Axiata Berhad (Celcom)	Y	Y
Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi)	Y	Y
U Mobile Sdn Bhd (U Mobile)	Y	Y
YTL Communications (Yes)	N	Y

Mobile cellular

The major service providers for mobile cellular services in Malaysia are Celcom Axiata Berhad, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Maxis Berhad, YTL Communications, and U Mobile Sdn Bhd. The number of mobile cellular subscriptions stood at 44.601 million as of Q4 2019, with a penetration rate of 135.4% per 100 inhabitants.

Mobile cellular service is also provided by Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)s. As of Q4 2019, there are 10 MVNOs operating in Malaysia.

In March 2021, Digital Nasional Berhad was officially launched to develop 5G infrastructure and networks across the country. Nationwide, 5G coverage for Malaysia is targeted to reach 80% coverage of populated area (COPA) by the end of 2024.

As of Q3 2024, mobile (4G) coverage by settlements for each region in Malaysia is listed below:::
i) Peninsular Malaysia : n/a
ii) Sarawak : 93.87%
iii) Sabah : n/a

Internet

Internet Users: 28.304 million (2018)²

Country code (Top level domain): MY

As of Q3 2024, the internet coverage in populated areas for each region in Malaysia is listed below:::
i) Peninsular Malaysia : n/a
ii) Sarawak : 90.09%
iii) Sabah : n/a

See also

• History of Communications in Malaysia
• Internet in Malaysia
• Malaysian telephone codes
• Malaysian mobile phone codes
• Media of Malaysia

Notes

¹ Network that can reach every other network on the Internet without purchasing IP transit or paying for peering

² Internet user population is calculated from the Internet Users Survey 2018 (IUS 2018) based on 87.4% of the total population of Malaysia in 2018 (32.385 million). Population data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).